It’s Messi vs Ronaldo, it’s Catalonia vs Castilla. It’s the nation against the condition, independence fighters vs Franco’s fascists. It’s majestic goals and mesmerising skills, red credit cards and bench brawls. It is the greatest two teams on earth going face to face and bottom to bottom. It’s more than a game. It’s a battle. It’s Barcelona vs True Madrid.

…Only, it’s not that simple. Through the wounds left from the civil battle to the groups’ recent global domination, historian and expert on Spanish football, Sid Lowe about Dread and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona vs True Madrid lifts the cover on sport’s very best rivalry. Lowe has spoken to the largest names and the overlooked heroes who described their clubs. Guys like Alfredo Di Stéfano and Johan Cruyff aswell as the only survivor of the most politically charged game ever sold, the Barcelona striker who knocked Madrid out of the Western Cup for the first time ever, as well as the chief executive who celebrated his club’s defining moment by taking a midnight drop in the Thames.

By exploring the history, politics, culture, economics and vocabulary, while hardly ever forgetting the drama on the pitch, Lowe demonstrates the symbiotic character of the relationship between these two football giants. In doing this he shows the human tale behind this explosive rivalry.